Growing health insurance costs have been hurting Dale Jorgenson’s River Falls business for the past 11 years, eating into his profits and forcing his employees to pay higher deductibles.

But Jorgenson, along with many others in a 17-county region in Wisconsin, will have a new option once Cooperative Health Choices of Western Wisconsin is rolled out.

The cooperative was formed late last year as a way for large and small businesses, nonprofit organizations, local government, the self-employed and other groups to band together for greater bargaining power with health insurance companies.

Jorgenson is excited about the prospect of having leverage at the bargaining table, something he currently lacks.

“We don’t have any ability to negotiate,” Jorgenson said of his business, Riverland Laser, which employs about a dozen people. “It’s almost like a take it or leave it situation for us.”

It’s not yet clear how much members will save through the co-op, but the Green Bay-based Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative, the model for the CHC, has been able to save its members 40 to 50 percent off their health insurance costs over the past two years, said HLC’s executive director, Randy Connour.

Information for those interested in the CHC will be provided during a live webcast from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. The cooperative opens part of the application process today and will close it June 5, said Steve Healy, its president. The co-op is expected to begin offering its members health insurance through a company by Oct. 1.

To join, employers must have those who seek insurance under the plan go through a health risk assessment. Prospective members will not be denied based on the results of the health risk assessment, but healthier pools of people will pay less, Healy said.

Health care co-ops became possible in the state after the Wisconsin Cooperative Care Law took effect in 2006, Connour said. Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative was formed shortly after and now insures about 2,500 people through an insurance company, making it the largest co-op of its kind in the state.

“If we can put together a pool of two or three thousand lives, that’s pretty significant,” Healy said of CHC. “It’s a whole lot different than me trying to buy insurance in the open market by myself.”

To take part in the webcast, visit stcroixedc.com or unitedscv.com/chchealth.htm at 11:30 a.m. today. Participants will be able to send questions through their Web browser to the presenters. The webcast will be archived for later viewing.

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